High school is the most influential time in any adolescent’s life. This is the time that every young person is molded by the people they converse with, the activities they are a part of, and the classes they enroll in. I believe that these three factors are the biggest impacts that each and every high school student is most affected by. Personally, they shaped the way I preceded through high school, giving me the identity of a smart and athletic individual. Although my most powerful experiences weren’t always good ones, as a whole they forged me into the person I am now here at URI.
As I headed into high school, many of my close friends changed. Some of the people that I once called my “best of friends” eventually became acquaintances, and others became even less. The reason some of my closest friendships parted ways was because of academics. Since I did well in school, I was enrolled in honors classes all throughout my high school career. This means that most of the new people I spent time with while in school were all in the same classes since we were all honors students. Over time, I learned that some of the friends I previously had were headed in directions I did not want to follow. This social aspect of high school could have influenced me to be a student who did not care about his academics and pursued nothing. I wisely chose a different academic career, which is a choice that I will never regret.
Throughout high school, there were two teachers that swayed me academically. My history teacher, Mr. Yip, was definitely the most influential out of all of them. Not only did he impact me as a student, he impacted me as a person. While being my favorite teacher, we grew a student-teacher bond that helped me every year of high school, with me even taking his electives to continue having him as a teacher. Mr. Yip was a teacher I could always go to for advice, and in this also assisted me in narrowing down my interests so that I could pursue a certain major in college. From there, he wrote my letter of recommendation being part of the reason I was accepted to many different schools. Another teacher, Mr. Souness, had been my teacher for two science classes; physics my freshman year, and anatomy my senior year. His style of teaching was extremely inspirational which got me to not only be interested in sciences, but enjoy and exceed in them. His British accent may have also been one of the reasons I loved being in his classes. Nevertheless, these two teachers were extremely passionate about their professions, and it’s no wonder as to why they were able to impact me academically.
Believe it or not, playing sports geared me towards my major. During the football season my senior year, I unfortunately tore my ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) during the 2nd game of the season. It broke my heart. I had never cried so much in life from sadness, but who would’ve thought that the experience was going to influence me academically? After ACL Reconstruction and six to nine grueling months of physical rehabilitation, I was finally able to participate in sports again. However, over the course of those six months, my interest in the medical field grew like no other. I was already interested in science courses, but the injury along with Mr. Yip’s advice helped me decide to pursue a new dream.
Although I wouldn’t consider high school the best time of my life, it has still been the most influential. It’s a place where people and experiences shape where you eventually end up academically. It directed me towards sciences and eventually the medical field. Yet, what many students never realize towards the end of high school is taking a moment to say thank you. Saying thank you to the family, friends, teachers, and experiences that designed the path that led them to where they are now.
High school is the most influential time in any adolescent’s life. This is the time that every young person is molded by the people they converse with, the activities they are a part of, and the classes they enroll in. I believe that these three factors are the biggest impacts that each and every high school student is most affected by. Personally, they shaped the way I preceded through high school, giving me the identity of a smart and athletic individual. Although my most powerful experiences weren’t always good ones, as a whole they forged me into the person I am now here at URI.
As I headed into high school, many of my close friends changed. Some of the people that I once called my “best of friends” eventually became acquaintances, and others became even less. The reason some of my closest friendships parted ways was because of academics. Since I did well in school, I was enrolled in honors classes all throughout my high school career. This means that most of the new people I spent time with while in school were all in the same classes since we were all honors students. Over time, I learned that some of the friends I previously had were headed in directions I did not want to follow. This social aspect of high school could have influenced me to be a student who did not care about his academics and pursued nothing. I wisely chose a different academic career, which is a choice that I will never regret.
Throughout high school, there were two teachers that swayed me academically. My history teacher, Mr. Yip, was definitely the most influential out of all of them. Not only did he impact me as a student, he impacted me as a person. While being my favorite teacher, we grew a student-teacher bond that helped me every year of high school, with me even taking his electives to continue having him as a teacher. Mr. Yip was a teacher I could always go to for advice, and in this also assisted me in narrowing down my interests so that I could pursue a certain major in college. From there, he wrote my letter of recommendation being part of the reason I was accepted to many different schools. Another teacher, Mr. Souness, had been my teacher for two science classes; physics my freshman year, and anatomy my senior year. His style of teaching was extremely inspirational which got me to not only be interested in sciences, but enjoy and exceed in them. His British accent may have also been one of the reasons I loved being in his classes. Nevertheless, these two teachers were extremely passionate about their professions, and it’s no wonder as to why they were able to impact me academically.
Believe it or not, playing sports geared me towards my major. During the football season my senior year, I unfortunately tore my ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) during the 2nd game of the season. It broke my heart. I had never cried so much in life from sadness, but who would’ve thought that the experience was going to influence me academically? After ACL Reconstruction and six to nine grueling months of physical rehabilitation, I was finally able to participate in sports again. However, over the course of those six months, my interest in the medical field grew like no other. I was already interested in science courses, but the injury along with Mr. Yip’s advice helped me decide to pursue a new dream.
Although I wouldn’t consider high school the best time of my life, it has still been the most influential. It’s a place where people and experiences shape where you eventually end up academically. It directed me towards sciences and eventually the medical field. Yet, what many students never realize towards the end of high school is taking a moment to say thank you. Saying thank you to the family, friends, teachers, and experiences that designed the path that led them to where they are now.